The Pulmonary Rehabilitation program at AUBMC provides chronic pulmonary disease patients with state-of-the-art, evidence-based, multidisciplinary, and comprehensive care aimed at reducing their symptoms and health care costs, and improving their functional status and health-related quality of life.

Objectives

Improve health-related quality of life

Increase capacity to exercise

Reduce breathlessness

Develop patient’s knowledge about the disease

Decrease anxiety associated with the disease

Advise patients about their nutritional status

Reduce health care utilization

Program Description

Upon entering the program, participants undergo a detailed initial assessment to determine their specific needs and baseline exercise capacity and develop a tailored treatment plan.The program then consists of twenty sessions scheduled twice weekly over a period of 10 weeks. Each session includes a 60-minute coached physical exercise training and a 20-minute educational intervention during which the participants’ are taught techniques to help them cope with and manage their symptoms and their disease.The program also offers psychological assessment and nutritional and smoking cessation counseling.

The AUBMC Pulmonary Rehabilitation Team

The Pulmonary Rehabilitation team is composed of:

A physician specialized in respiratory diseases

A specialized nurse-educator

A specialized physical therapist

Who Is a Candidate?Pulmonary rehabilitation should be considered for patients with chronic respiratory diseases such as COPD who have persistent breathlessness that limits their physical activity despite adequate medical therapy.Patients with lung disease who have repeated respiratory illness (exacerbations) or increased health care use are also candidates.

What is COPD?Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a common lung disease that affects millions of people around the world, primarily smokers, 40 years or older.

COPD patients have limited ability to breathe air in and out of their lungs due to narrowing of their airway. They complain of cough and breathlessness that limit their ability to perform physical activity and may progress to interfere with their ability to perform daily living activities. Patients may also experience repeated respiratory illness called exacerbations, characterized by worsening breathlessness and coughs that may lead to frequent hospitalization.

COPD is a chronic condition, which means it will never go away. Doctors cannot cure COPD, but can help patients control their symptoms improve their ability to perform physical activity and prevent exacerbations using medications and pulmonary rehabilitation.